


Toby Occupies Wall Street

by apocryphile



Category: West Wing
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-18
Updated: 2011-11-18
Packaged: 2017-10-26 05:30:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/279262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apocryphile/pseuds/apocryphile
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pretty much what it says on the tin. The Josh/Donna is incidental. Post-series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Toby Occupies Wall Street

“Turn on the TV, Josh, Toby’s about to get arrested live on CNN!”

Margaret was way ahead of him, wielding the remote like a diminutive lightsaber before Josh could disentangle his still-unfamiliar reading glasses from what was left of his hair.

The familiar images of the sprawling camp in lower Manhattan filled the screen, but it was the text in the ticker at the bottom that had caught Sam’s attention in his office and sent him running, collaring the nearest intern and dispatching her to find Lou without breaking stride.

DISGRACED BARTLET ADVISOR ADDRESSES LARGEST OCCUPY WALL STREET RALLY YET

They couldn’t see Toby or hear his voice, but the speech being broadcast on the airwaves via the medium of the infamous ‘human mic’ was unmistakeably his.

“You’ve created an unprecedented space for dialog in a very…unwelcoming place. That took chutzpah.”

Josh suppressed a groan as the human mic fumbled the Yiddish, and Donna corrected their pronunciation under her breath as she joined them. She circled the desk, greeting Margaret and Sam with a smile, and bent down to kiss her husband before not-so-gently shoving him out of his chair so she could sit. He chuckled, and rubbed her swollen belly before straightening up and standing behind her as they continued to watch.

“But now it’s time for the hard stuff. You’ve said the occupation is the message. That message has been sent. That you’re still here is a victory. But you cannot, cannot, cannot be complacent. You have not just an opportunity here, but a responsibility. You have extraordinarily compelling stories to tell.”

They still couldn’t see him clearly, but they could picture him perfectly, leaning forward and gesturing for emphasis as he warmed to his topic.

“Now, I have a bit of a history of getting into trouble for telling the truth.”

The speech was interrupted briefly as the front rows laughed and cheered before relaying his words back.

“There are good, hard-working people in this country who are seeing their financial security, their futures, slip through their fingers. There are bright, qualified people who are unable to find decent jobs to support themselves, never mind fulfil their potential, while our infrastructure crumbles, our innovation stalls and our international standing diminishes every day. And there are people, if you can call them that, unaccountable powerful people making decisions that affect our lives, our incomes, our safety net, not in some hypothetical future but right now, and the fact that… that is still allowed to happen, after all the damage that has already been done, after all the promises that have been made, that… is unacceptable. And that… demands direct, decisive and massive action.”

There was a pause during which Josh and Sam’s cell phones both beeped, Margaret’s phone rang, Josh’s direct line blinked, and his email pinged. They ignored all of them.

“At least these days, I’m allowed to get arrested.”

The crowd roared, and everyone in the office tensed. Dean of the Politics Department at Columbia carried fewer restrictions than a job in the West Wing, sure, but the repercussions would still be enormous if he did something really rash.

“But I’m getting old, and I think my wife would divorce me again. So I’m calling on you. Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid. This movement is spreading around the world. That solidarity is a mighty force. Information is a mighty force. The thousands of stories you’ve collected of the people who need change the most, they are a mighty force. The people who are going to campaign next year, who are going to donate, who are going to vote, are a mighty force. You are a mighty force. Be steadfast, be daring, be innovative. Make the decision-makers listen. Make the world listen. As an old friend of mine once said, this is the time for American heroes. And here, now, is the time for a new kind of heroism.”

The camera zoomed in for the first time, and Sam pressed his hand to his mouth, as Toby seemed to stare directly at him.

“We need a permanent revolution.”

The human mic broke down entirely as cheers, chants and clapping filled the park, so they couldn’t tell if he had actually finished speaking, but Sam turned away from the screen. Josh refrained from commenting on the fact that he was wiping his eyes.

“It’s pretty much us he’s coming for, right?”

Josh laughed.

“Yeah, buddy, it pretty much is. We better suit up.”

Sam shook his head ruefully.

“He’s the best person we could possibly hire to get us through this, you know.”

“Of course he is. But he taught us well, Sam. Besides, you heard him. He’s finally started listening to Andy. The rebuttal won’t be for him, don’t sweat it.”

Lou appeared in the doorway just as Sam started to leave, and he hustled her back in the opposite direction. They started bickering almost immediately, which was not at all unusual and typically proved to be an effective way for them to come up with creative solutions, so Josh left them to it. When he got up and closed both doors, Donna shot him a look, and then without being asked opened his desk drawer, and pulled out a cell phone only she, her mother, mother-in-law, and the daycare staff had the number for. She scrolled through the contact list, stopped at ‘Bob’, pressed dial, and tossed Josh the handset.


End file.
